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Montagne Jeunesse Dead Sea 'Anti-Stress' Mud Pac Face Mask

Another day, another face mask review! Okay, so I don't review face masks quite that frequently, but readers of my previous reviews may have noticed I have a bit of a thing for skincare products, with Montagne Jeunesse face masks being something I tend to use on a fairly regular basis.

I've been suffering a bit with my skin recently, and have had a number of unattractive, angry-looking blemishes pop up out of nowhere. I picked this mask up a while ago in Primark and felt that I might as well give it a go as it claims to 'ultra deep pore cleanse'. And here's how I got on...

Packaging

This mask comes in Montagne Jeunesse's signature oval-shaped single-use sachet. The sachet is pink and purple in colour with an image on the front of a woman wearing a bright turquoise face mask and some leaves over her eyes (please note: the mask itself isn't this colour - it is more of a light bluey-green colour, as shown on the back of the packaging). The front of the sachet has text to display the product name, explaining that it is for normal, oily and T-zone skin and also advertises the mask's 'anti stress' and 'ultra deep pore cleansing' credentials.

The back of the sachet includes logos to show that the mask is BUAV (British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection) approved (i,e. not tested on animals) and Vegetarian Society approved. There are instructions for use in English, French and Spanish, as well as an ingredient list (with key ingredients highlighted by the use of colourful text) and a statement reading 'We've harvested ultra deep cleansing Dead Sea Mud to draw out impurities and open blocked pores to leave skin feeling cleansed and soft'. The sachet rips open easily, with a side opening that allows you to squeeze out a thin stream of the mask.

Using the Mask

As I opened up the package, I got a whiff of a nice, relaxing, summery scent. The fragrance is a little difficult to describe, but if you've used any 'deep-sea mineral' type products before it's that sort of a smell but in a subtle and fresh way. It's a nice 'clean' scent, but it doesn't smell sterile, just pleasant. The mask squeezed easily out of the packet and I built up a layer of it over my face, after cleansing my face with warm water as instructed to. Now normally I'd use the entire sachet and layer the mask on thickly but this time I decided to use less so that I'd be able to get two uses out of it. I was easily able to cover my entire face with half the packet without feeling that I wasn't using enough product to get a good result, which shows how generous the amount provided in the sachet is. Alternatively, I don't like to use face masks on my neck and just stick to putting them on my face, but there would certainly be enough in the packet for full facial and neck coverage for those who prefer to use face masks this way.

The mask has a pleasant, thick consistency and feels cool when applied. The scent stuck around after the initial application, but it was subtle rather than overpowering, and nice enough to help me relax. The instructions on the sachet recommend that users 'Lie back, relax and D-stress' for 10 to 15 minutes after applying the mask, and I certainly did so - the packaging's claims to be an 'anti stress' mask are definitely accurate!

The mask took around 25 minutes to dry (bear in mind that I only used half the sachet, so I'd imagine that if you were to use the entire sachet it'd probably take about an extra 10 minutes or so) and tightened slightly as it hardened, although I was still able to move my facial muscles a little without any pain or any of the mask flaking off my face. As it dried, most of it became slightly lighter in colour, although some areas over my T-zone became darker where the mask had drawn oil and grease from my skin. I also noticed that the mask went into small dots over my pores, which I liked as it showed that there was clearly some truth in the 'deep pore action' claims of this product.

I waited until the entire mask had dried out before removing it, and I found taking it off an easy and fuss-free task. I simply doused a flannel in warm water and held it over my face for 10 seconds or so to loosen the mask, then rinsed out the flannel, held it in warm water again and rubbed it across my face in circular motions to remove every last trace. All in all it took about a minute to transform my face from masked-up to completely clean and it was far easier to remove than some masks I've used in the past where I've really had to scrub at my skin.

Once I'd removed all traces of the mask I simply moisturised and applied make up as normal.

Results

Immediately after removing the mask, I checked out how my skin was looking and was very impressed with the results. It had a nice matte appearance, where the mask had drawn away oil and grease, and my spots, which had been quite angry-looking prior to using the mask, appeared smaller and far less red. It had also evened out my skin tone and my skin was all one uniform colour with no redness.

The mask also scored well in the touch test I did after removing it. My skin felt very soft and also much smoother than it had done before applying the face mask.

As for the longer-term results, this mask left my skin looking and feeling soft, smooth and refreshed for a good few days after application. My skin retained its matte appearance for a day and then returned to normal (some shine but not too much and manageable with make up) and the softness and smoothness stuck around for a couple more days afterwards. I also noticed that my blemishes did not flare up again and healed quickly.

Price and Availability

I happened to pick this face mask up in my local branch of Primark, where they had a few baskets of face masks, lip balms and similar items in the area where you queue up for the tills, presumably to tempt impulsive face mask buyers like myself! I paid 90p for the sachet, which I thought was reasonable as I'd usually expect to pay around £1 for a single-use face mask sachet.

I've also seen this face mask in branches of Boots, Superdrug, Tesco and New Look, and it seems that this is one of the more popular face masks in Montagne Jeunesse's range as it is widely stocked. It is usually sold for around £1 per sachet, although I've seen Montagne Jeunesse masks on '2 for £1.50' offers in various stores so it's worth looking out for a bargain.

My Conclusions

As I hope that readers will have established from my review already, I was thoroughly impressed with this mask and would highly recommend it to others. The scent of the product and the cooling sensation it had on my skin really helped me to relax and de-stress, and I liked that it didn't feel uncomfortably tight when it dried.

Though I am somewhat sceptical of how much good face masks can actually do for your skin, I cannot deny that the appearance and feel of my skin were dramatically improved both immediately after using this face mask and over the following few days. This product certainly lived up to its claims to leave skin feeling cleansed and soft, and I really did feel that this product did some good for my skin. As I mentioned earlier in this review, I'd been suffering with quite nasty-looking blemishes before I used it, and it certainly improved their appearance, making them less red and helping them to blend more into my skin rather than sticking out like a sore thumb as they had done previously.

I also feel that this mask was good value for money. I'm happy to pay up to £1 for a single-use face mask and having enough product left over for a second application was a bonus. I've not used the second half yet, but the packaging advises using this face mask on a weekly basis so I will be using it very soon and I'm sure I'll be equally as happy with the results second time around.

Overall I'd give this face mask a cracking score of five out of five, and I will definitely be re-purchasing it.

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